Stephen Elboz is the writer of the children's books The Byzantium Bazaar and A Land without Magic.

Background

Born in 1956 in Wellingborough

Wellingborough

Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

, Northants where he still lives, Elboz wrote his first novel in secret at his junior school

Junior school

A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....

 in Wellingborough.

Encouragement from teachers made him continue to write, although he only left school with only a single O-Level in technical drawing

Technical drawing

Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....

. Later educated at Lancaster University

Lancaster University

Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...

, he won a writing competition and had a play produced on the local radio station. Elboz is presently a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 at a junior school

Junior school

A junior school is a type of school which caters for children, often between the ages of 7 and 11.-Australia:In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 5 and 12....

 in Corby

Corby

Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...

, teaching part-time so he can write more.

Elboz was awarded the Smarties Young Judges' Prize

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize

The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, also known as the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, was an annual award given to children's books written in the previous year by a UK citizen or resident. The prize was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading, and sponsored by...

 for his first published novel, The House of Rats.

Books

• The House of Rats
• The Games Board Map
• Bottle Boy
• The Byzantium Bazaar
• Ghostlands
• A Handful of Magic
• A Land Without Magic
• A Wild Kind of Magic
• An Ocean of Magic
• Temmi and the Frost Dragon
• The Tower at Moonville